Hoard
by Dark Ice Dragon
Summary: ·Dragon!M-21· Ishibil is used to defending his forest from Union knights and other humans trying to kill him, but then two humans come to his forest who are different from what he's used to.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary** : Ishibil is used to defending his forest from Union knights and other humans trying to kill him, but then two humans come to his forest who are different from what he's used to.

Contains **:** Some blood and gore.

Dragon!M-21 AU.

Thanks to Myriade for all the help she gave when I was stuck in places! And to Laryna for the support as well. :3

Inspired by otpprompt's, 'Imagine your OT3 as a Princess, a Knight, and a Dragon who all live together in a tower.'

I'm using 'ser' as a gender-neutral term.

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 **Hoard  
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By Dark Ice Dragon

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Ishibil's ears flicked towards the entrance of his den and he held back his growl, in case he alerted whoever it was before he got a good look at them.

His den was embedded in the side of a mountain, created by the magic his broodmates had wielded. The entrance was at the end of a curved tunnel that let in enough sunlight to be able to see, but also hid anyone who was coming in or going out. That way, the ones inside could hear anyone coming in, and the ones outside wouldn't know what was inside until it was too late.

The animals in the forest knew the den belonged to a dragon and stayed clear. The only creatures that would come this close were humans. If it was the Union knights trying to kill him or trying to find the graveyard of his broodmates again…

Ishibil curled his lip, baring his fangs as he lifted himself up, making sure his tail didn't drag over the ground as he crept over.

He peered around the corner and saw two humans standing at the entrance. Neither of them were wearing the white cloth the Union knights preferred — the two were in duller browns, the fabric dusty. They were bundled up for the coming winter weather so only their faces and hair could be seen.

One was half a head taller than the other with long hair, while the other's black hair stopped at their ears. The scent of magic in the air made Ishibil's stomach twist, reminding him of his broodmates; it didn't smell the same though, more like what was left in the wake of a lightning storm rather than a more concentrated forest scent.

A mage and a…princess?

Every few moons a parade of knights would come to his forest, demanding he release the princess he'd 'kidnapped' from their kingdom, but he hoarded skulls, not pincesses. The princesses all had the same description with long hair, and the taller one seemed to fit that.

Ishibil heard a sharp intake of breath, the princess straightening — the princess must have seen him.

The pair didn't run, but they didn't draw weapons either. Not that the mage needed one -even though one hand was wrapped around a staff- and the princess was also holding one. Instead, the mage stepped forward, arms stretched up towards Ishibil's face.

"Oh great dragon!" the mage cried out, "we come seeking refuge!"

Ishibil stared at them. That wasn't the usual speech he got from humans. "Was that supposed to be a greeting?" It was better than declaring they were going to kill him, but at least Ishibil understood what _that_ meant.

"Um." The mage scratched the side of their face while the princess made a soft groaning sound and reached out to snag the mage's sleeve. "The stories I read said it was a good idea to be polite...?"

Humans had strange ideas what was polite. "Leave," he growled, drawing himself up to tower over them more. The mage's shoulders slumped while the princess tugged them away. He had no interest in humans in his den; that wasn't what he hoarded, and all the others had wanted to kill him.

"Thank you," the princess said, giving him a small nod as they left.

Ishibil flicked an ear, staring at them. The human was _thanking_ him? Hn, maybe because he hadn't killed them outright — but they hadn't tried to kill him either. There made a difference.

They kept talking when they were out of his sight, the entrance picking up their words and bouncing them back to Ishibil. "Aw, but I was hoping-"

"Not _now_ ," the princess hissed.

Ishibil stayed at the entrance, watching them descend the mountain in case they decided to sneak back. They didn't, and he went back into his den.

xOx

Ishibil heard clashing metal and shouting a few days later, and he went to the entrance of his den to investigate, his ears pricked. The wind carried the sound of fighting up to him, and he narrowed his eyes at the plume of smoke rising in the distance. Only humans made that kind of disturbance.

Growling, Ishibil launched himself into the air, heading to the source.

He saw magic flashing through the trees first. It had to be the mage from earlier – the Union thankfully didn't have many mages, or else it would have been harder to defend himself against them.

The pair were fighting — he roared, recognising the white uniforms. The humans froze, spinning to stare up at him. He crashed down on one, feeling and hearing bones snap under his claws as he span, smashing his tail into more humans.

Magic was building up in his throat, just on the edge of releasing but he didn't reach for it, knowing it was useless. It had never worked, no matter how much he'd wanted it. So he used his claws and fangs to rend the humans apart instead, hearing others screaming. He curled his lip at the sound. Good. It made them easier to find.

He snapped back, flapping his wings and hissing when he was splashed with liquid and he shook his head. There was a pair of white-uniformed humans beside him, carrying a barrel between them. He huffed, swaying as whatever was in it took effect and he snarled again, crashing forward and crushing the pair.

His vision was blurring, but thanks to the uniforms, he could pick out who he needed to kill against the brown forest. Whatever it was, it made his legs unsteady, but it wasn't strong enough to make him collapse.

He roared, and he could feel the weakness from the poison leaving. Hah. He may have been the runt of his brood, but he was still a dragon and poison wasn't going to bring him down that easily.

His vision had cleared by the time he'd smashed his way through the last of the knights in the area, leaving the mage and princess leaning by a tree.

The princess kept their bow raised at the trees around them, the mage also keeping their staff up. The princess glanced at him. "Thank-"

Ishibil whirled on them, snarling. "I didn't attack them to save _you_ ," he snapped, flapping his wings. If any of the knights had escaped - if this group had the same goal as the last ones-!

M-21 launched himself into the air, trying to find more of the white uniforms.

He flew in an expanding circle but he didn't spot anything. He didn't trust that; the knights could be hiding from him, so he kept searching.

Once he was satisfied there was no-one left alive, he flew back to the graveyard where his broodmates were laid to rest to make sure.

He landed softly, trying not to disturb anything. He inspected the ground and sniffed the air, but there weren't any new scents apart from the usual ones.

Good.

He curled up in the centre, keeping watch over his broodmates, his ears pricked for anything approaching. It was quiet and he sighed, taking in the scents his broodmates had left, saturating the earth with their magic.

There had been an illness that had swept through his brood, and even though Ishibil was the runt, he had been the first to recover.

They thought everyone else would be the same. If Ishibil got better, then of course the others would. But they didn't. Each of his broodmates succumbed to it until Ishibil was the only one left.

He closed his eyes, exhaling as he laid his head down on the ground. He was no longer the twenty-first of his brood, but the last. There were times where Ishibil wondered if it was _because_ he'd been the runt that he'd survived. If him being magicless was what had saved him while it took the others.

There was no way to find out, not that he really wanted to.

All that mattered was that his broodmates were dead and the Union had started to invade his forest soon after, intending to dig up their bodies.

He didn't have magic and he had only been able to watch, helpless as his broodmates died in front of him, but he wouldn't allow the Union to take their bodies.

xOx

Ishibil glided over his forest, patrolling in case more Union knights were stalking around.

It didn't seem to be, but he did spot two humans that were starting to become familiar.

He folded his wings and landed next to them at a crouch, hearing a satisfying yelp from one of them.

"Are you allied with the Union?" he demanded, ready to pounce if they were.

"What?" the mage yelped, their mouth gaping as they scrambled back.

"We're not, ser," the princess said, hand tight on their bow, an arrow ready to fly. "We're running from them, in fact."

"Yeah!" The mage waved their staff. "If we were allied with them, why were we fighting them?"

Ishibil narrowed his eyes but straightened, bringing his wings close to his body again. ...That was true. Though he hadn't seen them much during the fight, too distracted by killing the Union knights.

Now that he was this close to them, he could see a number of bandages of the pair's bodies.

"They're interested in you?" Ishibil peered at them, furrowing his brow. The Union attacked their own kind?

"Well, yeah," the mage said, glancing away before looking back at him again. "I'm a mage."

Ishibil flicked the tip of his tail. "That's obvious." The scent gave them away.

"Anything to do with magic are well sought after with that kingdom, ser," the princess said, lowering their bow bit by bit. _That_ Isihbil knew well, and he growled at the memory.

"Yeah..." The mage rubbed the back of their neck. "I wasn't lying when I said we were looking for refuge."

Ishibil snorted. "More of your stories telling you a dragon would look after you?" Hadn't they hadn't learned they couldn't trust those yet?

The mage chuckled, the sound weak. "Not…really. You're just the only one not trying to kidnap me or forcing me to do something I don't want to."

Ishibil considered the pair, not believing what he was hearing. "You went to a _dragon_ for safety." When most humans either steered clear of his forest or specifically tried to hunt him down because humans considered him dangerous or thought he'd stolen an important person for his hoard.

He turned to the quieter one. "Your mage is strange, princess."

"He's not my-" The princess' eyes widened as the mage sucked in a breath, spluttering. "I'm, ah, not a princess, ser. I'm a knight."

" _I'm_ the prince," the mage said, flashing their teeth at him, tapping their own chest with their fingertips.

Ishibil considered them both with the new information. The knight wasn't wearing armour or carrying a sword like the other knights he'd encountered, only having a bow as a weapon. And the prince(ss) had short hair.

"What's the difference between a prince and a princess?" They sounded the same, but there had to be a reason why the mage-prince had corrected him.

"Well," the mage-prince said as they waved a hand, "princesses are women and princes are men."

Ishibil squinted at them. They had different titles depending on their gender? Why make it more complicated? "Are you both male?" He should ask to make sure.

"Yeah!" The mage-prince nodded.

"And you, ser?" the knight asked. "We don't want to assume and get it wrong."

Like he'd just done with them? But then, he didn't have to worry about the two being angry if he'd insulted them and being stepped on. And it wasn't as if dragons themselves could tell if another dragon was male, female or other at a glance. "Male," he said with a short lift of his wing claws.

The mage-prince flashed his teeth again. "Though names are an easier thing to call us. I'm Tao, and this is Takeo." There was a pause as they both looked at him.

He'd never had to introduce himself to anyone before, not when he'd been with his broodmates since he'd hatched. The humans he'd met before hadn't been interested in his name either, attacking him instead.

"...Ishibil." His name felt strange on his tongue.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ishibil," Tao said as Takeo gave him a short bow.

It was strange to _hear_ his name again after so long.

He didn't know how to react to that, his ears flattening. "Fine." He wanted to warn them away from the graveyard, but that would have given them a direction. He turned and flew off, circling again in case they tried to follow him.

xOx

The next time Ishibil patrolled his forest, his nose twitched at the scent of something he hadn't smelled before and he tilted, searching for the source. Anything new or different usually meant humans were doing something again.

He narrowed his eyes at a thin plume of smoke rising above the tree line and he flew over to it.

There were two drab forms huddled next to a small fire and he landed next to them, extinguishing the fire when he flapped his wings.

The m – Tao scrambled back with a yelp, staff in hand, his other hand lighting up with magic while Tak – huh. So _his_ staff could become a bow.

There was a pause where both Tao and Takeo froze, staring at him. Then Tao wheezed with a soft laugh, flopping backwards to lie on the ground.

"Can - you give us a warning before you do that?" Tao asked, still staring up at the sky. Takeo had lowered his bow and unhooked the string from it. The wood snapped straight again, looking like a staff once more.

"...You want me to roar first?" Ishibil said, tilting his head. He did to scare humans off.

Tao chuckled at that, which Ishibil squinted at him for. He hadn't said anything amusing.

"I think you'd make my heart stop if you did that!"

And the thought of his own death was funny? Tao really _was_ strange.

"Though I guess _anything_ you'd do would scare me," Tao continued on. The human…never seemed to stop talking.

Takeo poked at the fire with a different piece of wood while Tao rolled to his feet.

"Why are you doing that?" Ishibil asked Takeo, watching the fire flare up again. It was deliberately made, but not in the same way the Union knights used it to damage his forest.

"We're cooking lunch," Takeo said, turning the sticks close to the fire. There was meat on them.

"And it's _cold_!" Tao tightened the cloth around him, keeping his hands tucked under his arms. "Aren't you?"

Ishibil blinked at him. "No. It gets worse later on." The weather was mild for what it could be.

" _Worse_?" Tao's eyes went wide, his mouth dropping open. "I'm shivering already!" Tao adjusted his clothes, wrapping himself up tighter. "How worse?"

Ishibil flicked his wing claws upwards before drawing them to his body again. "It gets colder until it snows."

"Snow?" Tao turned to Takeo. "…Well, I _did_ say I wanted to see that one day…"

More he'd heard from his stories? "If you stay, you probably will," Ishibil said. The winter had seemed normal so far, so it wouldn't be too long until the first snow.

He doubted they would stay for that long; no humans did.

His curiosity satisfied, he flew off.

xOx

Tao and Takeo seemed to be somewhere new every time Ishibil patrolled. Were they searching for something, or just restless? They stayed away from the direction of the graveyard, so Ishibil was content to leave them to it. Maybe it was a human thing to keep moving around rather than making a den to live in.

He spotted Tao and Takeo on his way back to his den and he hovered there, seeing the body of a stag they must have killed. It was more than what they could eat at once, unless they intended to store it somewhere. It was larger than their usual kills but maybe they would eat this and not need to again more for the next few days. They seemed to be eating whenever Ishibil flew over.

Takeo noticed him first and waved a hand at him. Takeo repeated it when Ishibil stayed where he was, sweeping his hand to his chest, and that drew Tao's attention to them.

Ishibil wasn't going to hear them if he tried to talk with them at that height, so he swooped down, landing far enough to not put out their fire.

"We were wondering the next time you were going to visit!" Tao said, and Ishibil blinked. They had? Why did they care?

Takeo had started walking towards the stag, so Ishibil turned his attention to Tao. "What did that gesture mean?" Ishibil asked.

It was Tao who tilted his head this time. "This?" He repeated what Takeo had done and when Ishibil nodded, Tao said. "He was asking you to come closer."

Oh. Dragons did that with a jerk of their snout. Which humans didn't have, or a long enough neck to do it either. That had to be why they used their hands instead.

"...Why?" Ishibil asked, watching Takeo carry the stag over to them.

"We didn't get to thank you earlier," Tao said as Takeo set the stag down in front of Ishibil. "My stories didn't cover how you're supposed to thank a dragon -and it'd probably be wrong anyway, heh- but we figured food would be at least _something_."

Ishibil wasn't paying attention to Tao's words, focusing on the stag's horns instead. The way they branched out and curved, they reminded him of Ishibsa's.

"…Thank you," he said, dragging the stag closer, intending to take it to the graveyard. He would put it-

"Great!" Tao said, clapping his hands, baring his teeth again. It was accompanied by a laugh, and maybe it wasn't the aggressive snarl Ishibil thought it was. "You can stay for dinner!"

"Gah - Tao-"

"What?" Tao turned to his knight, who had covered his face with a hand. "It'll be fun, won't it?"

"Dinner?" Ishibil repeated. He didn't know what that was, but Tao was asking him to stay?

"Yeah!" Tao nodded. "We're going to eat soon; we can eat together if you want."

Ishibil stared between them, but it didn't seem like Tao was going to take back his words, and Takeo wasn't protesting either. They _were_ asking him to say.

"All right," Ishibil surprised himself by saying. It...would be nice to share company again, even if they were humans. He was due to eat anyway.

It turned out that Tao's mouth could uncover more of his teeth, and that Ishibil hadn't heard _just_ how loud Tao's laughter could be until that moment.

xOx

"Hey, Takeo, do you know where-"

"It's in your pack — left pocket." Takeo said it without looking up, his attention on slicing the meat in front of him.

"Oh, right, right." Tao went over to one of the packs by a tree and started rummaging.

"While you're there, can you get-"

"Already got it." Tao waved a small pouch, his other hand inside the pack.

"And-"

"I won't throw it over this time, I swear!"

It was interesting watching the pair — it was as if they were joined at the head, knowing what the other was thinking and finishing each other's words.

Preparing and cooking the food took longer than Ishibil thought it would; he'd eaten most of the stag by the time the pair sat down to eat. It smelled nice though, and he could identify some of the plants they'd used. With the rest of the stag gone, he turned his attention to cleaning the skull.

"Ah, Ishibil?"

His ears pricked up at his name and he almost didn't react, so unused to hearing it. He glanced at Takeo, who was gazing at the skull. "Yes?" Ishibil said.

"Is that what you hoard? Skulls?"

Oh. He nodded. His hoarding instincts hadn't been as strong as his broodmates, but then everything about him had been lesser, down to his size and magic. It wasn't surprising his hoarding urge had been the same.

"Then we'll pay you back in horns," Tao said with finality, nodding.

Ishibil stared at him. How could Takeo predict everything Tao was going to say when it seemed like Tao said things at random? "Pay me back for what?"

"You saved our lives!" Tao said, waving a bit of meat. "Even if you didn't mean to. And you let us stay here. We owe you a lot, and I always repay my debts." Beside him, Takeo nodded.

Maybe it wasn't just Tao's stories about dragons that were wrong, but also what he thought he knew about humans… The pair weren't like any of the humans he'd met before.

"Though I'm a little surprised you haven't grabbed every horned animal around here already," Tao continued.

Ishibil snorted. "Our hoarding urges come and go-" His more than others. "-and I only need to feed every few days." Or else there would have been nothing left if he ate at the same rate Tao and Takeo did.

"Really?" Tao leaned forwards, like he wanted to make sure he heard everything Ishibil said.

Ishibil nodded. "I get most of my energy from the sun." From the way both Tao and Takeo straightened, that was surprising to them. No wonder humans used cloth to cover up their skin if they didn't get their energy the same way dragons did. "And I eat meat for what sunlight doesn't give me." To heal wounds or to grow. Ishibil's broodmates used to bring him a lot of food to eat but he'd resigned himself to his height. He was small for a dragon, but Tao and Takeo's heads still only reached the bottom of his chest.

He huffed, shaking his head. "You don't have to give me horns every time we meet." He was picky about the horns he brought back. It would be a waste.

"Aww, all right."

The two continued to eat as he finished cleaning the skull, and when he was done, he picked the skull up between his claws and flew off to the graveyard.

xOx

Ishibil took in a deep breath as soon as he landed. Not that he needed to, knowing where every one of his broodmates had been buried, but their magic still saturated the air and he closed his eyes, taking their scents in again.

When he opened his eyes again, he carried the stag head to Ishibsa's grave, setting it on top. Ishibsa's grave was the crudest out of all of them, Ishibil not having the magic to make one like the others and had to dig it out with his claws. He'd hated his lack of magic then, not being able to give Ishibsa a proper burial. The best thing he could do for them now was to collect horns for them to honour their memory.

"Hey," he murmured, curling up and staring at the skull. He saw Ishibsa's horns instead, his chest aching at the memories. "I found — no. Humans gave me this." Not that the pair had realised what it meant.

"It hasn't been as quiet as it used to be," he said, huffing. It couldn't be when Tao and Takeo was always doing something new the next time he saw them.

"And…it's nice," he admitted, curling up into a tighter ball. "I've missed you. All of you." Being surrounded by others, hearing someone close by and feeling their warmth.

He longed for the used-to-be familiar press of scales against his own, but there as none.

Exhaling a shuddering breath, Ishibil closed his eyes and remembered when the others used to be alive.

xOx

When Ishibil patrolled a few days later, his nostrils flared at the scent of magic. One that itched the inside of his nose he associated after a lightning storm. Tao.

If Tao was casting magic, that meant he and Takeo were being attacked. There had to be more Union knights in his forest again.

Narrowing his eyes, Ishibil changed direction, tracking the scent.

There was movement next to the river but then he paused, hovering there. No-one else was there. Tao was casting magic, Ishibil getting a stronger whiff as the wind carried the scent up to him, but he was directing it at the trees. Takeo was holding a long branch in front of him as he stood by the river, the branch tip over the running water.

What were they doing…?

Tao saw him first, his magic spluttering out as he gestured in the same way Takeo had last time.

Were they going to give him something again already? They'd given him the stag a few days ago. There wasn't another stag in sight, only a few fish next to Takeo, but Ishibil landed anyway, looking around. The earth was disturbed in places, exposed roots with dirt still clinging to them.

"Thought it'd be better if you came down — I don't think my throat would be able to handle having a conversation like that," Tao said.

He glanced back at Tao. "Why were you using your magic?" Ishibil asked. There weren't any other humans in the area, and he didn't smell any blood either. The pair didn't look like they'd been fighting either.

"Mm?" Tao span his staff in his hands. "I was practicing."

"Practicing?" Ishibil repeated, tilting his head.

"Yeah. Magic's a muscle you have to learn how to use, just like learning how use a bow." Tao nodded to Takeo. "So I have to keep using it to get stronger and to figure out what to do."

Tao blinked up at him. "Don't you do the same?"

"...No. We..." Ishibil trailled off, his ears flattening before he raised them again. "We have a set amount of magic we're born knowing how to use. If we want more magical strength, we eat more, but that's only a temporary boost." Not that it worked with him, but they didn't need to know that.

"Is that why some areas around dragon dens are desolate?" Takeo asked, bringing the fish over.

Ishibil squinted at him. "Is that what you know, or is that what you've heard?" With those two, it could be either.

Takeo was quiet before he nodded. "I've passed through a few forests that used to have a dragon's den."

Used to. Before humans had attacked and killed them.

"There wasn't much left of the forest — there wasn't anything living left in it, like something had sucked all the life out of the earth."

Ishibil gazed at him, furrowing his brow as he thought it over. "That doesn't make sense…" he said.

Tao's eyes widened. "It doesn't? How come?"

"If a dragon was trying to keep their magical reserves up, they would only eat more of the animals. Our magic isn't taken from the land." He looked at Tao. "I don't know how humans cast magic though."

"We don't do that either!" Tao waved his hands in the air, then paused, grimacing. "Except there's _some_ magic sucks the life out of things. But that's dark magic! And – and…" Tao's shoulders slumped. "I can see the Union doing that and blaming the dragon."

Ishibil growled, lashing his tail. "So they're not just killing us, but they're blaming _us_ for destroying our own homes?" Then more humans would go to his forest to try and kill him because they thought he was something dangerous to be stopped.

Takeo was staring at him, not in the way he usually was.

"What?" Ishibil said, looking back at him.

"Ah." Takeo hesitated, looking away. "There's something I've been wondering… "

Ishibil waited, listening.

"The Union's attacked your forest so much you can recognise their uniforms, but you're still hunting at the normal rate."

Ishibil shifted the weight on his feet. After what he'd just said, that _would_ seem suspicious.

"And..." Takeo hesitated again. "You didn't use magic in the fight when you saved our lives." Takeo paused again, staring up at him. "You...don't have magic, do you?"

Ishibil froze before he huffed, one of his usual retorts he'd given to a broodmate coming to his tongue. "And I proved I didn't _need_ to use magic in that fight."

"Ah. That's true." Takeo nodded. "That makes sense; forgive my assumption."

That...had been too close. Takeo was right, but if the humans knew he couldn't cast magic, _more_ would come until he couldn't protect himself or the graveyard anymore.

He couldn't let that happen.

"So I guess if it's innate for you, I can't ask you to teach me anything?" Tao asked, twirling his staff.

"No." Even if he _could_ use magic, he didn't think he would be able to. His broodmates hadn't been able to teach him, no matter how much they'd tried and they used magic in the same way. Him trying to teach a human magic when he didn't know how they cast their magic…. It wouldn't work.

"Ah well," Tao said, baring his blunt teeth. "I'll get there eventually."

"What does that mean?" Ishibil asked, staring at Tao. He'd seen enough to know it wasn't the threat it would have been on anything else, but he'd been wrong before so it was better he made sure.

"Eh? What does what mean?"

"This." Ishibil peeled his lips back to reveal his fangs.

Tao's eyes widened. "Uh, okay, when _you_ do it… I guess that's why you're confused." He shook his head. "It's a smile. It means I'm happy!" Tao lifted his lips again into a smile

Hn, that matched up with what Ishibil had guessed.

"How do dragons show they're happy?"

...When was the last time he'd been happy? When his broodmates had been alive. What had he done then?

"We usually rumble deep in our chest and nudge the dragon we're happy with." Not that he could do that anymore.

"Aah." Tao nodded, then he stretched his arms up to the sky with a groan. "I don't think I can cast anymore anyway, so do you want to stay for lunch?"

They wanted his company again? Shuffling his wings, Ishibil said, "Yes."

xOx

"Do you practice magic every day?" Ishibil asked, watching the pair eat.

"Every other day," Tao corrected, nodding. "Using magic tires me out so I have to rest in between."

Hn. Had that happened with his broodmates? They hadn't needed to use magic that often, or for that long. Especially since there had been so many of them to support each other.

"I've been trying to work on controlling roots," Tao said, holding a hand out, his palm facing the ground. "I lean towards lightning magic -which is _really_ helpful against knights- but I need something less flashy. It's no good if the person I'm trying to hit gets a warning because they saw me calling lightning." Under Tao's palm, the ground shifted, roots lifting out like they were being carried.

Ishibil stared at him. Tao's other hand was still holding the bit of meat he was eating, his staff by his side.

"Ishibil...?" Takeo said, and Ishibil huffed.

"I thought mages needed their staffs to channel their magic." If he could separate a mage from their staff, then they were helpless.

"Oh!" Tao's hand relaxed and the roots flopped back to the ground. "It _helps_ , especially if they're imbued with-" Tao's smile flickered. "-uh, certain materials or stones." Which meant parts scavenged from dragons and other magical creatures that had been killed. "But we don't really need them to cast magic. I just like this one because I needed something to help me up the mountain, and it's pretty handy as a club in case my magic doesn't work."

Ishibil blinked. "Why wouldn't your magic work?" He knew his own didn't, but Tao had magic.

Tao laughed, taking another bite of what he was eating. "Well, it wouldn't work against _you_ , but then, neither would my staff. And it's a little hard to concentrate on casting magic when someone's trying to kill you, heh."

Hm. That was true. Even if he couldn't cast magic, Ishibil was still resistant to it. Though that hadn't stopped his broodmates from magicking the things _around_ him as a joke.

xOx

The next time Ishibil found the pair, Takeo was practicing using a bow while Tao sitting next to him, leaning against a tree and...

Ishibil hovered long enough for both of them to glance at him and he landed before they could gesture for him to come down.

"What are you doing?" Ishibil asked, watching the roots Tao was calling out of the ground and forming a longer stick with one spaded tip and the other end jutting out with long thin spikes.

"Practicing making arrows!" Tao said, smiling at him as he tugged off another one and dropped it inside the arrow holder by Takeo's feet. "I also made Takeo's bow, so we're just seeing if they're usable."

Takeo gave Ishibil a small dip of the head before saying to Tao, "You need to make the fletching thinner."

"And I didn't know arrows had to be _that_ precise," Tao said with a laugh, coaxing out another bit of root with a wave of his hand. He kept his hand over the bottom of the arrow for longer before dropping it into the arrow holder.

"Because you didn't have to make them before."

"And at this rate, I'll know how to make and control root hands by the end of the week."

Takeo placed one of the arrows Tao had made into his bow, and drew it back. When he let go, the arrow flew and thudded into one of the trees.

Tao's head snapped up, and he pointed at it. "Hey, you hit it this time!"

That was the first time...? Ishibil looked at the tree Takeo had hit and - hn. It was surrounded by arrows, most of them imbedded into the ground or past it.

"Buuut, I think that's all I can do for now," Tao said with a huff, interlocking his fingers and stretching his arms above his head. "I'm starting to feel _hungry_."

"You're always hungry," Ishibil said with a snort. Whenever he found them they were just about to eat.

"It probably looks like it to you since it seems like you never eat at all to us," Tao said, flopping back onto the ground while Takeo went over to the tree and started picking up all the arrows. "But it was fun. I'm starting to get the hang of it, anyway."

When the pair started preparing their lunch, they didn't ask if he wanted to stay, but they didn't act surprised that he didn't leave either.

xOx

Ishibil watched his breath freeze in front of his snout. The temperature had been dropping through the day and snow had just started to fall as night descended. It was during those times he and his siblings would curl up together in a heap, using both their bodies and magic to keep warm.

He had neither now and... Ishibil peered at the snow again. Tao and Takeo were out in that. They were much smaller than him and Tao had already been bothered by the cold _before_ it had snowed. But they had each other, and Tao had magic. That would help. (They didn't have a den, did they? Or had they found one but just didn't stay near it during the day…?)

They would be fine.

Ishibil stayed near the entrance anyway, watching the snow fall in case it got worse.

xOx

Ishibil paced the entrance of his den, snow speeding past and hearing the howling wind. He'd been through worse, but that didn't mean much.

One of his broodmates would be in trouble if they'd been caught out in that, even using magic to help.

The pair weren't one of his broodmates though; why did he care what happened to them? He'd only known them a few moons!

It didn't matter, not when he was worried about what was happening to them _right now_. Every moment he wasted was one he could have spent finding them.

Bracing himself, Ishibil charged and flew into the storm.

* * *

Next half will be posted next Sunday!

Just a note: Ishibil means 21, and Ishibsa means 24.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary** : Ishibil is used to defending his forest from Union knights and other humans trying to kill him, but then two humans come to his forest who are different from what he's used to.

Contains **:** Some blood and gore.

Dragon!M-21 AU.

Thanks to Myriade for all the help she gave when I was stuck in places! And to Laryna for the support as well. :3

Inspired by otpprompt's, 'Imagine your OT3 as a Princess, a Knight, and a Dragon who all live together in a tower.'

* * *

 **Hoard  
**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

Ishibil pinned his ears to his head but that didn't stop the howling wind slamming into them, making his ears ache. He could fly through it. Just. But it was like he was trying to fly through water, fighting to keep his wings beating.

All he could see was white as the snow swirled in front of his snout. He had to trust that he was going in the right direction and they were still in the last place he'd seen them.

He'd last seen them by the river... There were a few places there they could have sheltered themselves if they'd found and reached them in time.

Ishibil knew where everything was in his forest and how long it took to fly there, but the wind was fighting him, trying to blow him in the opposite direction. The darkness didn't help; he couldn't see his usual landmarks.

Time dragged to throwing everything he could into flying against the wind, not knowing if he was making progress, or if he was struggling so hard to be flying in the wrong direction.

In perfect conditions, Ishibil could have glided over to the river with one flap of his wings, but now his wings and back muscles ached, resisting him.

He dived when he heard the sound of rushing water under him. It had to be the river. Close. They had to be close!

He didn't see the top of the trees until he crashed into them, wood snapping as he went through them.

He landed into the snow. It wasn't deep, not tall enough to go past his snout but it had softened his landing a little. He lay there, huffing, before he lurched to his feet, shaking himself to get rid of the snow. He couldn't waste time. He would be sore in the morning, but he would worry about it then.

He took in a lungful of air and inhaled snow. He sneezed and then sneezed again trying to clear his nose.

He couldn't smell them. He hadn't expected to, but he _needed_ something of theirs he could track! He had no other way of finding them. They might have found a safe place and he was-

He snapped his attention to a faint flickering light in the distance. Light like that wasn't normal in his forest. That had to be them.

He charged in that direction, not bothering with flying. The light stayed, guiding him and a few times Ishibil stumbled over tree roots and stones that slid out from under his claws but he kept the light in his sight the entire time.

He found the pair pressed up against a rock outcropping, the flames around them dying. The snow around them wasn't as deep as everywhere else but it was filling up fast as the storm continued.

He lunged forward and grabbed them by the cloth between his teeth. He lifted his head so he wouldn't drag them over the ground, hearing them both yelp.

"Ishi-?" someone gasped. He couldn't answer with them between his fangs, so he huffed instead.

He dashed towards his den, not bothering to fly, not when that wasted more energy trying to fight through the buffering winds again. And there was more chance of him sending them all crashing to the ground if he flew; it was safer running.

He felt their hands grab his lip for extra purchase, and good. He didn't have to worry so much about dropping them. It also meant they weren't dead.

Running through the snow was different from flying, though that was because his fore and back limbs burned rather than his back muscles and tail as he forced his way through. But this way he knew he was moving and covering ground.

Eventually he could feel the gradual incline under his claws and it was a relief when he reached the safety of his den. He shook the snow off and he carried them to the furthest possible place from the entrance.

He set them down and curled up next to them, feeling the magic that was just out of his reach try to spark up and _do_ something.

Nothing came as always and he huffed over them instead, nudging them with his snout to make sure they were all right.

"Thank – thank you," Takeo wheezed, his words broken up by a chittering sound. Takeo's jaw wouldn't stop moving, and now that Ishibil could see them properly, both of them were trembling.

The sound of their laboured breathing made Ishibil's insides clench, hearing the echoes of his broodmates' breathing falter as the illness took them.

No. He didn't want to see them die in the same way!

Ishibil wrapped himself around them, breathing over them. He didn't have magic, but he could help keep them warm that way. Since they were smaller, they wouldn't need as much heat as he broodmates. Shouldn't. He didn't know.

"Wai..."

Ishibil blinked, looking at Takeo, who was trying to pull at his clothes, his movements stiff and jerky. He couldn't move that much in the space of Ishibil's body had left them.

"Need t' take these off."

But humans didn't have fur or scales under the fabric they wore. That was why they wore it in the first place. "You'll be colder." They would _die_ if they took it off.

"Trus - trust me."

Could he? They were small and he knew how fragile their bodies were compared to his. But they knew their own bodies better than him and how to look after them.

Ishibil exhaled and then nodded, loosening the circle he'd created around them. As soon as they had space, the pair started shakily taking their clothes off.

He wanted to tear through their clothes to make it go faster so he could curl up around them again, but his claws were just shorter than their forearms. One wrong move and he could gut them instead.

"Hey," Tao mumbled, fumbling with the cloth around his waist, "c'n ya keep breathin' on us? S'warm."

Tao wanted him to keep breathing on them? He could do that.

Ishibil leaned in, breathing over them in turns, and bit by bit their movements got smoother and the pair were able to tug their clothes off. The clothes hit the ground with a dull slap when Takeo and Tao dropped them.

They were still trembling though, their entire bodies shaking.

"You can - again," Takeo said, the pair curling up against each other on the ground.

Ishibil wasn't sure what word Takeo had missed out, but he guessed he could wrap himself around them again. He did it, making sure his claws were nowhere near them.

Neither of them complained, and he tightened the circle just that little bit more, so they were pressed up against his scales.

He pulled a wing over to cover the pair, tucking his head underneath it so he could continue breathing over them as well as watch over them.

He saw their eyes close and their breathing deepened; it still seemed a little fast and shallow for Ishibil. Was that normal for humans? He didn't want to wake them to make sure. They needed rest.

…Was this what it was like to have dragon kits? To sleep with someone so much smaller than him against his scales. Not that Ishibil would know, being one of the youngest of his brood. From what his broodmates had told him, the pair were the size of kits that were a few months old.

It...had been a long time since he'd been worried about anyone other than himself. It had been a long time since he'd had _company_.

Ishibil closed his eyes and sighed. The two were there now, out of the blizard and with him. They should be fine, so long as they didn't get cold again, and he had no intention of moving.

He shifted to tuck his wing more securely, and then continued breathing into the space that he had created, exhaustion starting to pull at his eyelids.

Now that the danger was passed, the aches he'd gotten from flying in blustering winds and hitting trees demanded his attention and he winced.

It would be worse in the morning, but for now, he was going to stay up for as long as he could to make sure the pair of humans he was curled up around were all right.

xOx

Ishibil stirred when he heard something moving close by, and he furrowed his eyeridges. No-one came into a dragon's den, and something was pressed against his scales. It had been a long time since he'd slept alongside someone, hearing their breathing, but what he was curled up around was far too small to be a broodmate and-

Oh. He opened his eyes, seeing Takeo looking back at him. Uh. Right. Now he could think about what he'd done the night before.

He still didn't have an answer for why he'd been so panicked at the thought of losing them (but it was obvious, really, especially when the evidence was in the far too large and too empty den around them).

If Takeo was awake again, then he and Tao should be fine, so he didn't have to curl up around them anymore.

He started to unfurl himself but Takeo shook his head.

"Tao's still sleeping," Takeo said, soft enough Ishibil almost didn't hear him. He was sounding better, his words coming out without his teeth chittering together.

"M'not." Tao exhaled, slow and long. "But I'd still like you to stay like this, if it's okay with you."

"I can keep my wing there," Ishibil said, watching the way they moved. They didn't seem as pale as before. Good.

"S'cozy like this. Nice." Tao stretched, a hand sliding over Ishibil's scales.

"How are you feeling?" Ishibil asked them.

"Much better," Takeo said, "thanks to you."

"Yeah, we would have died if you hadn't come along!" Tao patted Ishibil's scales. "We owe you our lives again."

"I didn't do it to be owed your life," Ishibil said with a snort. But then, why _had_ he gone out and saved their lives? They were different from the other humans he'd encountered, but that didn't explain his _need_ to make sure they were safe.

Takeo reached over to the pile of their clothes as Tao opened his mouth. "They're dry."

"They should be!" Tao said with a laugh, changing with the new topic. "I'm sweating!"

Sweating? Ishibil didn't know what that meant, but he guessed Tao was saying he was too hot. Ishibil pulled his head out from under his wing and looked out towards the entrance. Sunlight was coming in and he and he couldn't hear the wind blowing past. The air felt warmer than the last time he'd been awake. The blizzard much have blown itself out.

"Okay, you can look now!"

Ishibil blinked and then ducked his head back under his wing. Tao and Takeo were wearing their clothes again. If they were protected against the elements again... "Do I unfurl?"

Both of them nodded.

It was nice to stretch out again after keeping himself in a tight ball and he stepped away, flexing his wings. Some of his muscles protested, reminding him where he'd been hit. He could still move, but not in the full flexibility he was used to.

"This den is huge!" Tao said, his eyes going wide as he looked around at everything.

Ishibil tried to flap his wings out of habit; he was able to flick them out halfway before they snapped back, his muscles protesting. "Yeah, it is." It had to be, to house twenty-four dragons at once with no trouble. And why it had felt so empty once he was left alone.

"Huh, that's strange..."

Ishibil's ears twitched in Takeo's direction, but his attention was on the entrance of his den. He scented the air, moving towards it. Was that...?

"What i-"

Ishibil snarled, digging his claws into the rock when he saw the thick plume of smoke in the distance, the muffled 'boom' reaching his ears. Startled birds flew into the air in the aftermath.

Someone was attacking _his_ forest. He could guess who, because there was only one kingdom that would _dare_.

He charged and launched himself into the air, speeding towards the plume. His back muscles strained, feeling like they wouldn't keep his wings up and he would plummet to the ground. He kept his wings open through stubborn will, _making_ them work even though all they wanted to do was fold up and rest.

He could do that once he'd protected his forest.

The fire was at the edge of his forest and while the snow helped to hide the knights' white clothes, they still stood out against the trees. There was about five humans there instead of the usual ten. All of them were knights, the air empty of the scent of magic and that had to be why the Union was always attacking him and trying to find the graveyard. Why they'd tried to steal Tao and Takeo. To get magic for themselves.

The blast radius of the explosion had taken out some trees, earth thrown up against the snow while the trees burned.

The knights saw him coming, not that he'd tried to hide his approach. He roared as he flew through the fire, knowing his scales would protect him from the heat.

He landed on one knight, snapping at another. He bit down and threw them against a tree.

The knights already had their swords drawn and they attacked him. It didn't work. It never did. His scales were harder than what their blades could slice.

He snarled as something shattered against his side and he focused on the human that had thrown it.

His heart thudded harder in his chest, and it must be more poison they'd tried on him before. They'd used a smaller dose and the poison wasn't as strong as the one before. It still affected him, his vision brightening at the edges and the world tilted, dizzying him

He would be fine. He would shake off the poison like last time.

The human attacked and Ishibil didn't bother getting out of the way of their attack, not when he wasn't sure if he would misstep. Their sword skittered over his scales and he grabbed the human in his jaws, shaking them as they screamed.

Ishibil saw movement from the corner of his eyes and he threw the human it, following the arc to crash into the humans as they struggled back to their feet.

Blood stained the earth and Ishibil panted once he'd killed the last human, the aftereffects of the poison still dragging at him. It lasted longer than last time, his vision still wavering and he closed his eyes, waiting for it to pass.

The fires were still going though, and he huffed, lumbering his way over to the closest burning tree. The heat from the fire had melted most of the surrounding snow, making it easier to move, and Ishibil made sure each step he took was stable before he put his weight on it. The fire shouldn't spread, not with everything covered in snow, but he should do something about it just in case.

He pushed himself up and used his bulk send one tree toppling down, the snow hissing and steaming when it got in contact with the flames, the fire extinguishing after that.

There weren't many trees still on fire, most of the damage was from the blast. It didn't take long before the air was filled with steam and Ishibil looked around, making sure there was nothing else that needed to be put out or any of the knights were moving again.

Nothing else moved, and he huffed, flexing his wings in satisfaction. Good. He gazed out at the lands outside his forest, trying to see if there were any more humans there. As far as he could tell, no-one else was there.

But why would the Union send knights to attack his forest like that? They'd been prepared, bringing poison with them, but the other groups of knights had gotten much further into his forest before Ishibil had spotted them. Setting fire to the edge of his forest was...far too obv-

Ishibil whirled around, his lip curled and ears flat as he used one of the trees to launch himself into the air again. His wings snapped out as he beat them, trying to gain as much altitude as quickly as possible.

Where the fire had been, it was the _furthest part away from the graveyard_. The Union had to know the distraction wouldn't work, or else they wouldn't have used so little of the poison and less knights than their usual groups.

It was harder to fly when his wings were already tired and his body was still recovering from the poison, but it was mostly calm air and he struggled to keep himself aloft.

Once he saw his broodmates' graveyard, he snarled, diving towards it. It should have been covered by snow but the entire area was clear, as if it hadn't been touched by the blizzard. By the edges of the graveyard were more of the white uniforms. How had they found the graveyard?

His nostrils flared, scenting unfamiliar magic. Mages. Most of the people there were mages. He'd thought the Union didn't have many mages. But there was dragon magic intertwined there as well and Ishibil eyed the staffs in their hands. Bones and the tips of horns dangled from them; they must have come from other magical creatures they'd killed.

He didn't care. What mattered was defending his broodmates' graves first.

He saw some of the mages raise their hands and he recognised the movement from watching Tao cast magic.

He swerved but the branches shook as shadows shot upwards, each one aiming for Ishibil. He tried to fly away from them but they were faster, and the shadows wrapped around him, forcing his wings shut.

 _No!_ He struggled against the magic as he plummeted but it didn't give, slithering over more of him and binding him harder until he couldn't move his wings or limbs.

He smashed into the ground, roaring as one of his wing bones snapped. Dazed, he tried to fight the magic.

The magic bound him to the earth, pressed in further, making the pain flare harder as it shifted bone. He flinched, roaring again as he tried to move his wing to a position where it wouldn't hurt, and break out of the hold.

He heard someone approach and he snarled at the sight of the mage walking towards him. They were dark skinned with yellow hair, and there was someone on their nose, protecting their eyes. In their hand was another small round seethrough item filled with liquid. More poison. He could throw it off like he had before, but with his broken wing, his healing ability would be slower than usual trying to deal with them both.

The mage didn't falter, didn't act as if they were afraid of him.

Ishibil wanted to roar, but the pain and the magic was constricting his chest, making it hard to draw in breath.

"I must thank you," the mage said, and Ishibil snarled again, the magic not allowing him to do much else. Why would a Union mage thank _him_? "If you hadn't so generously marked the graves of your brethren, we would have found it much harder to find them." The mage smiled at him.

Ishibil froze, widening his eyes. What? They'd found his broodmates' graves because of _him_?

"Hm, you're still completely healthy," the mage said, peering at him. "I wonder why your body didn't start failing like the others."

The mage _knew_? The mage knew what had happened to his broodmates? And why did the mage think he was supposed to have died with them as well?

Ishibil furrowed his eyeridges, sniffing. The graveyard scent was changing. Fading.

He stared at the shadows the mages had called up. The scent hadn't weakened in all the time Ishibil had been there, only growing stronger as more of his broodmates joined each other in death.

It had only started fading when the mages had used the shadow magic.

He started struggling again. Not only had he lead the Union to his broodmates, the mages were using _his broodmates'_ magic against him!

The human waved a hand and Ishibil's nostrils flared again, magic filling his nose and his snout forced was opened. He snarled. Magic built up in his throat but all it did was stay there, as useless as it had always been.

"So the reports were right: you don't have any magic." The human lifted the item in their hand and uncorked it.

Ishibil growled, unable to do anything more as the human walked over and crouched next to his snout. Ishibil wrinkled his nose at the scent, getting a whiff of something _unnatural_ before the mage poured the poison down his throat. He'd never tasted anything like it. Bitter and pungent, as if the mage had put something rotting inside his mouth. His throat tried to close up before more could get in but the mage kept pouring and Ishibil tried to breathe. The poison went down wrong and he coughed, feeling the poison slip in as he spluttered, helpless against it.

"Crombell wanted this one alive," the mage said, standing up again, "so he could collect better results." The mage waved a hand and Ishibil's snout snapped shut.

Who? But the poison was taking effect; it was as if something had rammed into his stomach and knocked him sideways. The edges of his vision brightened as his head flopped. His heart raced as he felt the liquid hit his stomach. Stronger. This one was so much stronger than before.

"We've got enough of the potion to last carrying it out," Ishibil heard, the voice fading in and out like the wind was catching it.

"Then we can dig these up without being disturbed."

No. No… He couldn't let that happen… But the best he could do was twitch, flushing hot and cold.

He tried to growl as one of the mages waved their staff, the tip glowing and he was lifted up into the air.

Ishibil heard a whoosh and then one of the mages staggered back with a scream. A brown shaft was sticking out through the mage's shoulder, blood spreading out from the wound.

Who-

Tree roots ripped up from under the earth, lashing out at the mages. Some of them were able to shield themselves from the roots while others were dragged down. With the mages distracted, Ishibil dropped again, stunned when he hit the ground.

He only knew of one pair where one was a mage and one used a bow.

But how had they known he was here, and _why were they helping him_?

The magic around him weren't as tight anymore, but the poison was still affecting his body. He had to wait until it wore off.

Could Tao and Takeo distract the mages for that long? He _didn't want_ them to. It was dangerous here and-

Another arrow flew out from outside the graveyard, but it bounced off a shield thrown up by the mage. It was followed by a streak of lightning that crashing into one of the shields. Ishibil could smell burnt earth in the aftermath, but the mage was still standing afterwards.

"Found them!" one of the mages crowed triumphantly, waving an arm. The trees rustled as the shadows coalesced above the graveyard before tendrils shot out, all going in one direction.

Something flashed in the distance and then Ishibil heard Tao's familiar yelp.

Tao and Takeo floated into view, wrapped up in shadows. Tao's legs were kicking out against nothing Ishibil hadn't seen Takeo glower like that before, his eyes narrowed and Takeo looked as if he was about to lift his lip to bare his teeth.

"Ah? My, my, now _this_ is a surprise," the mage that had shoved the poison down Ishibil's throat said. The mage smiled, but it wasn't like Tao or Takeo's. "Prince Tao? The Prince that had suddenly disappeared in the night a few moons ago? I didn't expect to find _you_ here."

"Yuri," Tao wheezed, and Ishibil narrowed his eyes at the ice-vines again, growling. If a mage needed to concentrate to cast their magic, the Union mage had to be constricting Tao's chest to keep him distracted. "Was hoping to never see you again. And I thought it was time I went on adventure. See the world."

"Especially when the rumours started growing that you knew magic."

"That was another reason, yeah."

The magic around Ishibil was weakening as the mages focused on Tao and Takeo. It wasn't enough to free him just yet.

"I think you'll enjoy working with us," Yuri said.

"Yeah, I won't," Tao said, shaking his head. "I don't think digging up graves as 'fun'."

"You say that as if you'll remember your previous life," Yuri said with a wider smile. "Kill his knight," the mage said, turning back to Ishibil. "We don't need him."

Something snapped inside Ishibil and boiled his blood at those words. He bellowed, the magic around him disintegrating as the mages' attention snapped to him again, backing up a step, their staffs held up in front of them. He tore out of the magic and charged at Yuri. His fangs found no purchase on the shield Yuri threw up, and snarling again, Ishibil felt the magic collecting at his claws, stronger and fiercer than any of the other times magic had tried to come to him. He knew what to do and he swung an arm, smashing a fist into the side of the shield.

The mage crashed through a tree, the shield protecting them from the impact before shattering. Ishibil thundered after them, crushing them under his claws and then tearing them in half _to make sure_ they were dead.

Screams were piercing the air again, a steady 'fft-thwock' predicting when another scream would sound.

Roaring, Ishibil whirled back to the graveyard, seeing shields flicker. Tao and Takeo were in his periphery, standing close together as they defended themselves, and Ishibil tore through the mages the pair weren't engaged with.

It didn't take long until Ishibil couldn't see any more other mages standing. With a growl in his throat, he stalked back to Tao and Takeo and curled up around them as tightly as he could pressing his scales up against them.

Ishibil covered them both with his wing, and that way he would _know_ they were protected.

He stayed there, feeling the last dregs of the poison fade from his body. When no more mages popped up to attack them and all he could hear was the wind, he relaxed with a long huff, his growl abating. The magic in his claws faded and he flexed them.

"Hey, Ishibil...?" he heard from under his wing, and his ducked his head to peek under it.

"Yes?"

"Are you feeling better?" Tao asked, stroking his scales.

"I am." He rumbled deep in his chest at the touch. The poison was gone, the mages were dead, and Tao and Takeo were alive. That was all he needed right then.

"What about your wing?"

His wing? He flexed the one that had been broken in the fall and huh. The bones had already mended themselves, the muscles moving like his wing hadn't been injured. "It's fine." That was faster than how long he usually took to heal.

"That's good." Then Tao chuckled. "I guess it's a good thing you didn't _sit_ on us; we'd be flattened if you had."

Ishibil blinked at him, his ears flicking, trying to make sure he'd heard Tao correctly. "What do you mean?" Why would he have sat on them? That would have hurt them and he didn't want to do that.

"Well..." Tao shared a glance with Takeo, who cleared his throat, so Ishibil looked at him instead.

"We noticed that you didn't have a pile of horns in your den," Takeo said.

"I don't." Ishibil tilted his head to indicate the graveyard behind them. "I put the horns I find here." That was why he collected them in the first place; the horns had reminded him of his broodmates. …He should stop doing that and get rid of the skulls he'd collected; he didn't want to lead more of the Union there.

"Huh," Tao said, looking in that direction even though he wouldn't be able to see past Ishibil's bulk. "That's not really a dragon-y thing to do; I thought you always slept on piles of whatever you hoarded."

"…The rest of my broodmates did," Ishibil admitted, one of his ears flicking at the memory. "I didn't have an as strong urge to hoard as they did."

Takeo was studying him. "Did you ever sleep in piles together?"

"Not really," Ishibil said. "Since I didn't hoard as much, I tended to sleep with one of my broodmates." The others had slept on their piles.

Takeo nodded. "Hm..."

Why was that important?

"So..." Takeo trailed off, and then exhaled, looking back at Ishibil. "Would you say that your hoard might have been your broodmates, rather than horns?"

Ishibil almost discounted the idea as ridiculous straight away, because it _was_. A dragon collected what they were driven to; they didn't just _have_ what they were interested in as soon as they were hatched.

But...

It also made sense. He'd never felt the need to hoard anything until his broodmates had started to die, and the horns he'd collected were something to remember them by, rather than something he'd wanted to keep for himself.

Oh.

"...Yes," Ishibil said, his voice faint to his ears. "I think I did."

Tao was stroking his scales again. "I've never been part of a dragon's hoard before."

"That's not many other people who could say that," Takeo said with a small smile.

Tao laughed at that. "True!"

Ishibil blinked at them. What...? They weren't — except-

It was both of them being threatened that had caused him to snap, to push through everything to defend them. The first thing he'd done once he thought the immediate danger was over was to go to _them_ rather than to the horns or the graves.

How he'd gone out in the blizzard to look for them because he was worried about them.

He was treating them as his hoard.

Ishibil glanced between the two. "It's not strange to you? Won't your kingdom send people to rescue you?" That was what had happened to the princesses and their kingdoms.

"They don't know we're here," Tao said, making an expression that scrunched up his face. "And I don't want to go back."

Ishibil stared at him. "It's your kingdom." His den. Why wouldn't he want to go back? Even though Ishibil's broodmates had all died, it was unthinkable for Ishibil to want to leave. If he _did_ find himself away from his den, he would have tried his best to go back. It was _his den_.

Tao gave him a small smile. "The Union's powerful, and constantly trying to expand their territory." Tao exhaled, leaning back on Ishibil's scales. "They don't do it just by crushing their enemy."

"Marry?" Tao was a prince, a royal in his kingdom, wasn't he?

"Yeah, it's a union between two people." Tao laughed a little at that. "That's how they got most of their power in the first place: marrying into the bigger countries around them and then taking over from the inside."

"That's...what they were trying to do with you."

"Yeah." Tao nodded. "I would have 'disappeared' anyway once they found out I had magic, so I decided to do it on my own terms. I dragged Takeo along with me."

"You needed someone to keep you out of trouble," Takeo said with a smile.

Tao laughed. "Yeah, I do."

"So…you want to stay with me?" Warmth was blooming in Ishibil's chest.

"Of course!" Tao said.

"We wouldn't have come here to help if we hadn't been worried about you," Takeo added, nodding.

Ishibil rumbled deep in his chest, giving them a small squeeze. Then he furrowed his eyeridges, looking between them both.

"But...how did you know where this was?" The pair had never travelled close to the graveyard.

"We saw the direction you flew in when you saved us the first time," Takeo said. "And we thought the explosion was a distraction-"

"So we started running in the opposite direction," Tao finished for him. "We heard you roaring too."

Ishibil exhaled, closing his eyes. He was glad they'd come. If they hadn't…

He opened his eyes again, unwinding himself from the pair. Right. He couldn't sleep just yet.

"Mm? Ishibil?" Tao said, looking up at him.

"I need to get rid of the skulls," Ishibil said, hefting himself to his feet. His legs shook, not wanting to take his weight, but he had to do it as soon as possible. He needed to fix his mistake.

"We can do that," Takeo said, and when Ishibil glanced back at him, his ears pricked in surprise, Takeo was smiling.

"Yeah," Tao said, standing next to Ishibil and patted his leg. "You should rest."

"But-"

"We weren't drugged," Tao interrupted. "We were just carried by magic; we're fine."

…That was true. Ishibil gazed around at the graveyard, his heart heavy and his ears flattening as he tried to memorise how the graveyard looked.

It needed to be done and he could visit whenever he wanted. But maybe he should stop doing that too, in case someone found it that way.

He didn't want to forget them but it was for their protection.

"Ishibil," Takeo said, his voice soft. "We can take them to your den, if you want."

Ishibil started, his ears flicking up. They could, couldn't they? They could keep the skulls instead of destroying them.

"Yes!" He circled around the two again, rumbling in his chest. "I do."

He heard Tao's laughter. "Understood! But we can't do that if you're holding us."

Oh. Right. He nuzzled the two as he straightened himself, his rumble not abating.

"Now _go rest_ ," Tao insisted, patting Ishibil's snout. "You need it."

But he wanted — Ishibil yawned as far as his snout would allow and it was as if his body was agreeing with Tao, falling asleep as he stood.

Fine. He would go to sleep.

His hoard would still be there when he woke up.


End file.
